Margate residents furious about “Lake Christie” trapped in front of new dunes

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MARGATE, NJ - Residents and officials in Margate are in an uproar after the dune project they opposed for over four years is now causing nightmarish problems along the beach…which they predicted.

After last week’s rain, huge bodies of water have now pooled on the beach in between the newly constructed dunes and beachfront properties. Stormwater runoff is now collecting in front of the new dunes, blocking beach access for countless people in Margate, and posing a health hazard if it sits there for any longer.

In a years long legal battle, Margate City officials and residents fought the state of New Jersey and Governor Christie, who mocked them, and insisted on a dune system and beach replenishment project.

Carol Armon lives in a beachfront property and says the Army Corps of Engineers ensured residents the water would percolate into the sand, but that’s not happening. Armon and her neighbors are worried about what will happen if the water doesn’t go away. Armon said, “We are really afraid of a mosquito problem. We will not be able to walk out of our houses!”

Margate Mayor Michael Becker told PHL17, “The city of Margate has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday at 11 o'clock to possibly hire an outside attorney and file for an injunction to stop the project.” The pools of water that stretch for blocks were actually predicted by an engineer and explained to a judge last December. The judge dismissed the prediction as “fantastical.” Becker said, “We are on record, you know, saying that all of these things are going to happen and they have.”

Becker says samples of the standing water were taken Monday morning and they’re waiting to hear back from county officials about other dangers the water could present.

Becker also said the Army Corps should be considering a major drainage system for the entire length of Margate to get rid of the water.